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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spell — letters
  5. craft — a skill
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bass — low music
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. craft — boats
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spell — a short time
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — to confront
  17. spell — magic
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. branch — a division

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com